Gardening was a new quarantine hobby for many people this summer. While the warm weather has come to an end, our gardening doesn’t have to. We can grow and care for a lot of herbs inside using window boxes or indoor planters. Fresh greens not only brighten up indoor spaces, but they also add a lot of flavor to home-cooked, winter meals like soup, chili, and pasta. Here are six indoor herbs to keep your garden growing and your dishes full of flavor this winter.
Basil
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Basil is one of the best indoor herbs to start from seed, and it loves windowsill sun. Harvesting your basil by clipping the top leaves regularly will help it grow. Plus, adding fresh basil to pasta sauces (especially dining hall pasta dishes) pesto, or on top of homemade pizza takes things to a whole new level!
Mint
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Mint plants have so many uses from flavoring tea to refreshing a space’s scent to brightening up a room with its bright green color. You can grow mint in soil or just in water. Drying mint leaves will allow you to enjoy them longer in homemade thin mints, mojitos, smoothies, or even mint sauce chicken. On top of all that, mint can reduce nausea and help improve brain function so it’s definitely good for your upcoming midterms.
Oregano
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If you're a fan of pizza, lemon vinaigrette, or minestrone soup, you’ll get a lot of use out of your oregano plant. Known for its earthy flavor, this is the perfect herb to bring you out of that cold, winter slump. On top of its flavor, oregano adds additional antioxidants to any dish. Oregano definitely loves the sun, but be sure not to overwhelm it with too much water.
Thyme
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Thyme is one of the toughest herbs in terms of the cold (if your thyme plant is outside, it will actually survive the winter frost and bloom again when the weather changes). Inside, thyme likes to soak up the sun through the window. One fun way to use thyme is to freeze it with olive oil in ice cube trays so the thyme stays fresh. These cubes can be used to sauté veggies, drizzle over potatoes, or make a salad dressing.
Parsley
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For an easy to care for herb, parsley is the way to go. Like basil, it is easy to start from seed, and you can even plant parsley in the same pot as thyme, oregano, or mint. Parsley can add a ton of flavor to Mediterranean dishes like tabbouleh and hummus (this is one of my personal favorites). It's also a beautiful garnish to make your home-cooked meals look that much more delicious.
Final hint: talk to your herbs to help them grow. After all, everyone needs some encouragement during these cold months. Even when it's the middle of winter and it seems there's not a plant in sight, we can still add fresh ingredients to our meals.